Tyson vs. Marciano: The myth of "intagibles"

I have not finished reading the pages yet but some common things brought up are:

An old Walcott was whooping a sluggish Rocky and knocked him down in the first round.

A. It was one of Walcott's best fights up until the knockout. You'd think it was his prime.

B. Rocky was sluggish because he took a nap before the fight (as always) but this time, he was not woken up when he should've been and he overslept. Even upon entering the ring he seemed out of place and the brief knockdown 'woke him up' in a sense.

C. Rocky was blinded for a good portion of the fight and couldn't see. He came back from a knockdown and being blinded against a very hard, skilled fighter and won by a textbook knockout.

 

Rocky's speed was also faster than most think. When he was 45 years old, in the later rounds of his match against Ali, he was quite fast with his combinations.

 

He also put Clay to the canvas in that fake bout for knocking off his hair piece... Makes one wonder what would have happened prime vs prime between the two, doesn't it?

 

It would be an excellent fight and certainly one of the greatest ever. Ali also said Rocky was harder to hit than he thought, he knew how to avoid many of Ali's shots.

 

Clay could have beaten Marciano to be sure, on his day. I'm not so sure that he would have beaten him 2 times out of 3. Frazier and Marciano weren't all that much different, I just think Marciano was a tad bit better than Frazier.

 

I can agree. Marciano seems a little slower with footspeed and cut easier but was a better two handed puncher with a better chin.

 

If you actually take that fight seriously, then you really shouldn't be taken seriously.

 

I'm not sure Clay could have won 2 out of 3 on his day. I'm definitely sure he'd have won 3 out of 3.

 

I don't understand all this 'hating' ****. I prefer Marciano to Tyson any day, I just think he doesn't do well in match ups with many all time greats. Some people come along in exactly the right era. He was one of them.

 

You are a lot more certain than Clay himself then.

 

Marciano did not look small at all in the ring with Ali, both mrn respected each other as a great fighter, and Charles,Walcott,even at the ages of 32 and 38 would have been competitive with Ali,Frazier and Tyson

 

I'm glad somebody remembered that little fact!

 

Agreed,

from a legacy stand point, Marciano deserves to be rated as high as most all time greats, but from a head to head perspective, he falls a bit short in my opinion. Of course, we can't guarantee the outcome of a head to head matchup that never happened and never will, it's difficult to favour Rocky over quite a few champions. I also agree that if nothing else, he was certainly a better human being than a lot of champions, especially Tyson.

 

Then don't take me serously then.. who gives a rat's butt?

 

Why does he (Marciano) fall short, head to head, in your opinion?